The three main types of graphs and charts are: • Bar chart
• Pie chart Bar Charts
Use a bar chart when you want to show how things compare to each other. The higher the bar, the greater the value.
Example
The following table shows data about the different sports played by First Year students. Sport
Number of students
Football 89
This data can be shown using a bar chart. Bar Chart Showing Sports Played by First Year Students Sports Played by First Year Students 100
90 80 70 60 50
40 30 20 10 0
Football Pie Charts
Use a pie chart when you want to show percentages or proportions of a whole. The whole pie chart is 100% and each slice represents a part of this whole. Example
The following table shows data about First Year students’ favourite ice cream flavours. Ice cream flavour
Percentage of students 17%
This data can be shown using a pie chart. Pie Chart Showing First Year Students' Favourite Ice Cream Flavours
First Year Students' Favourite IceCream Flavours 14% 17% 23% 21%
